Earlier this week Saudi said production will be back to normal levels in two to three weeks, which means restoring output to about 10 million barrels per day.

But traders and analysts are skeptical, while the lack of transparency about Saudi inventories adds to uncertainty about whether Riyadh can keep markets supplied without disruption.

Gary Ross, founder of Black Gold Investors and a veteran oil industry expert, said it was difficult not to believe that Riyadh was being “overly optimistic” in its timeline, given Saudi moves to defer cargoes and cut crude runs at its oil facilities. “Tightness is coming,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, has said the crippling attack on its oil sites was “unquestionably sponsored” by regional rival Iran. Tehran has denied involvement in the strikes.

Concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remained to the fore following comments by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter earlier Thursday.

According to Zarif, accusations that attacks on Saudi oil sites were “an act of war” may be aimed at deceiving U.S. President Donald Trump into a war against Iran.

Trump has said there were many options short of war with Iran and has ordered the U.S. Treasury to “substantially increase sanctions” on Tehran.

Crude stockpiles rose by barrels last week against analysts’ expectations for a drop of 2.5 million barrels.

However, stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for benchmark futures, fell to their lowest since October 2018.

–Reuters contributed to this report

Disclaimer:Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.